The Plague of Darkness
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: [AU] Heartland city is suddenly plunged into disarray. They are cut off from the rest of the world, their government has seemingly abandoned them, and things they took for granted are now what they need for survival. And nameless things crawl the streets and destroy. But behind all this is something deeper, if only it can be uncovered. And dealt with.
1. A Deck Battle

**A/N:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, L17 – write and post one chapter a week until you've written 100,000 words (let's see how long I last, lol). A mix of dystopia/utopia and zombie apocalypse-like AU…you'll see as you read. :D

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**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 1**  
_A Deck Battle_**

**.**

Yuuma watched his sister, on their father's motorcycle, vanished into the distance. He didn't like it. How he, the only male in their household, had to stay home twiddling his thumbs – or, rather, sorting through all the food Akari had brought yesterday and getting rid of anything that looked like it had spoilt.

There were some desperate enough to eat that, he knew. But, for now, the Tsukumo household was not any of them.

And that was all thanks to his sister and grandmother. Akari braved the city every day, hunting for information and supplies. And she was good at it. And her job was still intact. One of the few lucky ones. The reporters, the people at the power plant and on the communications network, and the police. Everything else had been thrown out the window. Shops, schools…everything.

Yuuma couldn't remember how it had started. Everybody else remembered at least a bit, as fast and as blurrily as things had changed. But Yuuma remembered nothing. He had just gone to sleep one night, had a strange dream he'd had for weeks on end before that – and then woke up, looked out the window, and saw how drastically things had changed.

The school building, for whatever reason, had been the first to go. Collapsed unto itself – or blown up by some supernatural force. Everybody had been saying the first of them – until they really did see aliens. Or creatures they didn't understand. But those creatures seemed incapable of destroying whole buildings. They attacked living things. People. Pets. Wild animals. They couldn't even scratch through stone. But still, buildings fell. No homes yet. Only large buildings. Like the school. Like the buildings in the shopping district, one by one. The hospital was still safe, for now. But most of the patients had been sent home in case that changed. They didn't need a tragedy like what had occurred at the school happening again. Hundreds of innocent seniors who'd gone for their final exams crushed.

That had been some weeks ago. They knew little more now, and Yuuma was in one of the best positions to know because he had Akari and Akari had her job.

But Yuuma was a hopeless fighter and even more hopeless a duellist to do anything but stay inside their still safe house.

**.**

Akari slowed down as she came towards the shopping district. Speed would be safer, but not even her father's mountain bike could climb all the debris at break-neck speed and she needed to keep her eyes peeled.

The shopping district was still a place where people of all sorts gathered. Though she didn't think there were any dates in progress, there was plenty of scrambling and fighting.

She took off her helmet and strapped it to the handles. It didn't look like there was any of _them_ at the moment. Though the people were still on edge. Still armed. Akari had a gun on her right hip and her duel disk on her left arm.

She'd never thought a bunch of cards would become a life-saving weapon, and it still didn't make sense why they were, but they were. Some idiot had been the one to discover it. Idiot…or desperate. He'd put a monster on the disk and hoped it would come to life and attack – and it had done exactly that. And then the media had caught wind of it and spread the news.

They didn't all work, all the time. Some guy who'd tried to summon out a level ten monster in the food square last week had wound up with a dud. That was, of course, when the food square was still _there_.

But she could see a level ten out now. Gravekeeper's Saniwa if she wasn't mistaken. Sitting atop a broken building as though it were his throne. She pulled out her binoculars to take a closer look. Yep, it was Gravekeeper's Saniwa. Not far from him was an officer waving his arms.

Some sort of trouble, Akari surmised. But it would be diffused by the time she got there. There wasn't much to see already. She could find out what happened later. Ask around.

That might be why there were none of _those_ creatures to be seen in the square. Still, Akari kept her eyes peeled.

That was how she spotted two boys, both familiar, in the middle of a duel where the games shops had once stood.

The game shops had been the next to go, after the school.

**.**

The game shops biting the dust had become a huge problem. It had only been three weeks since, but since firearms were in short supply and their ammunition too and knives and such were quite useless, they had to rely on their decks. And, of course, the ones with the most powerful decks were the ones more likely to make it through.

For now, everyone was safe in their homes. But at least one person per household had to get out – to fetch food and water, if nothing else. And those weren't easy to get. Heartland City had a government, but its government lay hidden beyond high walls. They said nothing, did nothing.

As for nearby cities…no-one seemed able to approach them. There was something in the air. Or a barrier. Something that kept them locked in.

People were already scared. Already deciding who would be left for dead, who would go on a little longer.

Just because someone else had decided Tetsuo was one of the former ones, it didn't mean he was going to lay down his deck and walk away.

And he was good. Just not as good as the guy who'd made it to the finals of the national championships.

He gritted his teeth. Shark grinned. He looked like a shark too. The hairstyle, the teeth, the pendant. Really, who cared about jewellery and hairstyles at a time like this, Tetsuo thought. And it might've looked threatening while they were back at school, but not now.

Except he was kidding himself, because he might have just walked away if it hadn't been his appearance, his reputation.

At least the monsters weren't tearing up what was left of their scenery.

**.**

The monsters in front of her were real as well. Solid, not holograms. Though they were carefully controlled. She stopped but ten feet from them but she knew she was safe. The new destruction was only between the two duellists. Both of them were wary of their surroundings. And neither wasn't the other too badly hurt.

Still, that didn't stop one of them – Tetsuo, Yuuma's friend – from being all scratched up. In earlier times, those clothes would have been thrown away. But any new clothes to be found would be in similar states now.

And what the hell was he doing, duelling? Yuuma didn't have a lot of sense, but Akari had thought his friends were a little better.

Then she gaped. His opponent had played an Xyz monster. And the air was cackling with energy. She quickly recovered from the shock and reversed.

She was in the clear when Tetsuo went flying, tumbling over what had once been a counter, his duel disk catching the edge and cracking audibly.

Shark laughed and stalked towards his prey. Akari growled and activated her duel disk. But the boy heard her and looked in her direction with a frown. 'We had a bet,' he said coolly. 'If you want his deck, you can duel me with yours at stake.'

Akari growled again, but stepped down. She wasn't going to drive about the city proper with just a handgun. And she wasn't going to be intimidated by a little boy as well.

After all, getting thrown like that had to hurt. And the duel had been whittling away at the boy by the looks of things as well. Even Shark, whose life points were still at their maximum, looked rough for wear.

Shark took her silence for answer enough and left on his own motorcycle. Akari considered aiming at the tyres, but decided it wasn't worth it. The handgun was just for emergencies, and she didn't want him retaliating with a monster when a level ten could be physically summoned. She had a good deck, but not many heavy hitters. And no Xyz monsters. Those were for the elite. And there were no elites in the city. Just an ex-elite. That still had Xyz monsters at her disposal.

There was nothing worse when all things went to hell than a bully taking advantage of it.

**.**

Yuuma gaped at his sister. 'You carried _him_?' Tetsuo was like twice Akari's width. Or his own.

'I didn't have much of a choice,' Akari replied tiredly, slumping on to the couch. 'Couldn't just leave him there, now could I?'

'No.' And Yuuma was grateful. He really was. Because Tetsuo was one of his closest friends and if he needed help, he was glad Akari had offered it. 'But what happened?'

'Shark,' Tetsuo groaned. One eye was swollen shut, and Haru prodded at it carefully. Clean water wasn't as scarce as food yet, but no-one doubted that the supplies would soon be contaminated, or drained. 'I duelled him.'

Now, Yuuma gaped at Tetsuo. 'Are you crazy?' he spluttered. 'Shark was the number one duellist at our school. And he was always taking – ' He froze, his eyes dropping down to Tetsuo's belt where he always kept his deck-box clipped. It wasn't there. 'He took your deck.'

'I was an idiot.' Tetsuo closed his eyes. 'But…we needed stronger cards. Especially Nee-san. Those _things_ are getting stronger. Level four or below monsters aren't doing much now.'

Yuuma knew that. Akari had told him, but the news hadn't been broadcasted. Akari said it was because there was no easy way to get stronger cards with the shops destroyed and the supply dried up. The only way was to get them off other people. And they didn't want to light _that_ fire.

But it looked as though that particular fire had been lit on its own.

'Still,' Akari frowned. Her eyes were closed as well and fatigue clung to her tone, but her voice was still scolding. 'What made you think you could beat a guy who got to the finals of the national championships? And he was disqualified to boot. He didn't lose.'

'I know, I know.' He would curse this day. He knew it. 'He just – he angered me. He is good at that.'

Akari remembered her own flash of anger. And the boy hadn't even been trying then. 'That he is,' she agreed.

'And I couldn't do the same if it was someone I didn't know at all. Or Yuuma. But Shark is…he has lots of cards. All those decks he…won back at school.'

'He probably does.' Yuuma clenched his fists. It wasn't fair. There were lots of desperate people and few who weren't. For cards at least, Shark shouldn't be desperate at all. If only because he'd been taking decks from those he defeated for almost a year. Whatever made him start acting like that – for Yuuma and Tetsuo, he had always been like that. But Akari said it was after he'd been disqualified. 'Someone needs to stop him.'

Akari snorted in amusement. 'He offered Tetsuo-kun's deck if I put up my deck on the ante.'

'He does that,' Tetsuo agreed. His voice was regretting, and defeated. 'Don't bother. No-one can afford to lose their decks. Especially not for my stupidity.'

But Yuuma didn't think it was so stupid. It wasn't that easy to get under Tetsuo's skin and someone really did need to stop Shark. But that was the sort of stuff that was top priority in school. There was a reason he hadn't disobeyed his sister's orders to stay in the house.

There was a shadow outside, suddenly. Akari lifted her head. Their grandmother went to the window, watching the figure pass silently by. Black, gooey – there weren't many good words to describe the thing and that was why they were yet to receive a name.

Then the shadow passed and Haru turned around. 'All gone,' she said, smiling brightly. 'Let's all have dinner. Tetsuo-kun, would you like to ring your family?'

He nodded and took the phone gratefully. If he didn't show up at the dinner table they would be worried. Even if there was less in both quantity and glamour to put on the table now.

How long before there was no food at all? No water? No medicines for the ill and the injured. No phone lines – a few had already fallen, most around the school and shopping districts but a few elsewhere. No electricity – the power plant was a large building too. It could go down any day. No weapons – guns ran on bullets and there wasn't an infinite supply of those. No cards. No shelter – once the big buildings were all gone and the homes were the next to fall.

They were still fortunate, for now. But slowly, their supplies were shrinking. Drying up.

'How long can we last?' he wondered aloud.

Akari glanced at him. 'Humans are a stubborn lot,' she said. It didn't answer the question, but it had to do. Because the answer depended on a great many things outside their control.

At least until they found out what those things were and where they were coming from. And what was cutting their city off from the rest of the world.


	2. Sneaking Out

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 2**  
_Sneaking Out_**

**.**

Yuuma struggled with the window. He was being loud; he knew it. Maybe not loud enough Akari in the room next to him, or his grandmother across to hear – but Tetsuo was sleeping in a futon on the floor and he really didn't want to wake _anybody_.

But the window was closed so tightly that he simply had to grunt and twist and scrape (or, rather, it was the glass that scraped) until he managed to push it open enough. And that last push made the window go up with a bang that made him jump in the silent that followed.

He glanced behind him at Tetsuo. The other didn't move.

He breathed a sigh of relief and climbed out the window carefully and leapt for the tree beside his bedroom to sidle down.

He landed safely and crept into the darkness, his heart thumping loudly.

Part of him wished Tetsuo _had_ woken up, just so he could talk him out of this crazy idea.

**.**

Tetsuo had, in fact, heard the window bang, but he'd lain frozen for a moment, and so he missed Yuuma's departure. When no sounds followed and he opened his eyes, he found the hammock above him empty.

'Yuuma?' he whispered. The bathroom, maybe, he thought. But the open window was hard to miss. The missing deck didn't mean anything. Everyone carried their decks around nowadays, in case those _things_. Got in.

He shivered. He didn't even have his deck anymore.

But if Yuuma was sneaking out, he could think of only one reason.

And though sense was telling him to wake up Akari so she could go after him, guilt and the feeling of uselessness pushed him out of the window to follow Yuuma himself.

He slid down the tree with less care than Yuuma before him, but he managed it without injury and he stared at the dark sky.

He thought he saw Yuuma's tail-hair vanish around a corner and quickly followed it.

There were none of those things outside yet either, by the looks of things.

And if things stayed that way, he'd be grateful. And glad.

**.**

Someone was following him. Yuuma froze, then looked behind him. Then he almost burst out laughing in relief because it was Tetsuo, looking as terrified as he felt. But that laughter was buried by another thought: the thought that had dragged him out in the dark in the first place.

Because most people were in their homes at night, which meant it was easiest to find someone then. And get something.

He waited for Tetsuo to catch up.

'Akari-san is going to kill us!' the boy exclaimed, when he caught up and bent over, catching his breath.

'Those things could kill you first,' Yuuma scolded. He'd been trying to mimic Akari there because she was good at keeping her cool and she was strong, but he didn't quite manage it. 'You don't have your deck.'

'And you can barely duel,' Testuo shot back.

Yuuma forced a grin. He knew that; he always lost to Tetsuo, and even Kotori who could barely duel herself. But he had a good deck. He knew it; it was his father's and his father was one of the best duellists. 'Kattobing,' he said, pumping his biceps. 'I've got a strong deck.'

Surely he couldn't lose when it really mattered.

'But –'

'My dad always said it.' Of course, Tetsuo knew that. Yuuma had always talked about his father, back at school. 'And he always said this deck was to fight for my friends. And that's what I'm doing.' His fingers closed over the cards he'd inherited: the cards he hadn't yet managed to win with. 'Surely I've learnt from you and Kotori.'

Tetsuo laughed at that. Or forced a laugh. There was a half-moon out, and some stars, so they weren't in complete darkness, but it was still darkness enough. 'I hope so,' he said sincerely, before he frowned again. 'But Shark creamed me, no problem. You –'

They both froze at a noise, then breathed a sigh of relief as they realised it was just a piece of tin rolling along in the slight wind.

'So…where were you going anyway? Do you know where Shark lives?'

'Nope.' Yuuma shrugged; he had an alternate plan. 'But we could check the school records.' Anything on a computer was probably gone, but the paper cabinets should still be in one piece. Or several pieces.

Tetsuo privately thought that Akari would be a far better person to follow in that situation, but it wasn't Akari running about in the night with a makeshaft plan to get his deck back – and there was no reason she would either (unless it was to drag Yuuma back by the ear). And Yuuma might be clumsy and an abysmal duellist, but he was the best friend one could hope for when it really mattered.

Tetsuo just hoped that extended to what had been dubbed a zombie apocalypse.

**.**

They didn't quite make it to the school. They were almost there though when they turned tail and ran from a shadow chasing after them.

For both of them, it was their first close-up look and it was frightening. Not that they spent a large amount of time admiring the shapeless form or its empty eyes or the arms stretching towards them.

They rounded a corner and the thing still followed them.

'Use a card,' Tetsuo gasped. He was already out of breath. 'Get a level four or higher,' he added, just in case.

Yuuma drew one. Then another. Then another. Then the whole deck. Finally, he cried in triumph and slammed a card on to the duel disk. 'Gagaga Magician!'

The monster appeared, large and real, and stood between the two boys and their pursuer.

Yuuma skidded to a halt. 'Attack!' he yelled.

Gagaga Magician swung his chains and struck.

It left a cut on the shadow. It hissed, a sound that was like nails on a chalkboard, before it struck back.

Gagaga Magician made a more humane noise of pain before he made to retaliate.

His chains were knocked aside by a sharp row of teeth enclosing the shadow from behind.

There was a noise of surprise, then a short laugh after that. 'That was pathetic.'

And Shark, as he was well known as, stepped out from behind his monster.

**.**

Yuuma stared at the boy. He was still dressed in the school's uniform, despite the school being in large block-sized pieces. The furniture was mostly okay, last he'd seen on the news. It was just the buildings that had collapsed. And he was hanging around the school. Why?

Then he caught the remark.

'My father's deck is not pathetic!'

Tetsuo tried to punch him. Too late. Shark gave another bark of laughter. 'Do you want to prove that?'

'Don't – ' Again, Tetsuo was too late. Two duel disks were ready. Gagaga Magician and the shark monster both became holograms within the duel field that emerged.

Yuuma reshuffled his deck and drew four more cards. Shark drew five, assuming he'd take the first turn. Nobody stopped him.

Tetsuo frowned. At least the first turn meant that Shark wouldn't be able to attack. It was bad enough he had a high level monster on the field. And one he didn't recognise to boot.

He put on his D-gazer, then blinked. Big Jaws was a level three monster. But it was boosted with something. He checked the graveyard. Aqua Jet. Big Jaws was boosted with Aqua Jet.

Tetsuo must have missed that move putting on his D-gazer.

Yuuma simply waited patiently, before gaping in surprise when the other declared an attack without adding an additional card.

'It's the first turn!' he all but squeaked.

'Wrong,' the other said, sounding bored. 'The first turn was you summoning your Gagaga Magician.'

'Oh.' And Yuuma looked relieved as the backlash passed through him without knocking him back. Still, his lifepoints took a hit, reducing them to 6700.

Shark set a card and ends his turn. Yuuma drew two; if his summoning of Gagaga Magician was the first official turn, then his hand was a card short. The duel disk didn't complain. But most of the regular rules had been tossed out the window with the…Akari called it a pandemic, and Yuuma supposed that was the best he was going to find.

He also hoped his cards were going to give him a strategy.

Then he sighed in disappointment. Wonder Wand would have helped him last turn.

'Focus!' Tetsuo yelled. 'And try to think ahead.'

Shark cast him an annoyed card before staring back at Yuuma.

Yuuma just listened to the advice and stared at his cards. The brief stint of relief was fading into a mild panic. Shark hadn't said anything yet, but no doubt the stakes were the same. And if he didn't win Tetsuo his deck back – well, he didn't mind sharing his room, but he doubted that was all that was going to happen.

And Tetsuo just didn't seem the same without his deck.

He almost wanted to bite his thumb. He shook away the instinct. It was childish; it was something he only did in private, where no-one else could see.

But it was also childish to be afraid of the dark, until things started crawling in it.

**.**

Tetsuo kept an eye on the duel, but also on the surrounds. After the first shadowy thing – that really needed a better name than a "thing" – he wouldn't have been all surprised to see if others followed. There was a light in the distance. He wondered if that meant another duel or someone did patrol at night. He wondered why. And were the residential areas patrolled as well? He'd never noticed.

But at least they were safe. Sort of. As safe as three teenagers could be outside in the midst of a zombie apocalypse with two of them duelling with their greatest weapon at stake. Or, rather, Yuuma was duelling with his greatest – and currently only – weapon at stake. Shark wouldn't lose his deck if he lost the match.

And there didn't seem to be much danger of that happening either, and Tetsuo found himself closing his eyes and hoping for one of those rare miracle wins.

He almost gave up hoping for that when Shark brought out an Xyz monster. Xyz monsters hadn't been made in the time of Yuuma's father so the deck he'd inherited from him was lacking one. And there wasn't much else that could stand up to those behemoths.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Then opened them suddenly as he heard a grating sound, like metal dragging.

His eyes wide, he stared. The duel looked normal, though the monsters looked slightly more solid than before. Yuuma looked torn between excitement and terror. That dragon looked like it wanted a bite. And Shark was giving his monster an odd look. He had a line on his forehead as well. Like there was something he couldn't quite puzzle out.

And there was nothing abnormal around them.

**.**

Xyz monsters were cool, Yuuma thought, but he really wished that thing was on his side of the field instead. It looked powerful. And hungry. And scary. Like it had come out of a nightmare.

And the way it tore up his Gogogo Golem just added to that image. He could have sworn he heard his monster scream – but he'd only heard that when Gagaga Magician had been fighting the shadowy –

He stared. It was a little hard to see because of the night, but did Shark look a little different? Or was there a shadow behind him?

He shook his head. That really didn't matter. Unless it was one of those shadowy things. Hopefully it wasn't. Those things seemed obvious. They'd managed to see the other one coming with plenty of time to run. A sort of black against grey with a fine white lining. Even though the night wasn't exactly grey.

What mattered was the duel. What mattered was winning Tetsuo's deck back, and not losing his father's in the process. And then getting back safely home – hopefully without alerting Akari. She was scary when she was mad.

But he had barely any life points left and nothing, so far as he knew, in his deck to beat that dragon monster.

Maybe he should have listened to Akari (and Tetsuo) and not done anything reckless after all.

But Tetsuo needed his deck. And Yuuma could never turn away from a friend in trouble.

Even if it got him in to even greater strife.

_Well, I can still hope for a…what does Akari always call it? Do ex-machines? No, that doesn't sound right…_

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**A/N:** The duel in this chapter isn't quite the same as the one in the first episode of ZEXAL, but it is close enough to not bore you guys with the details.


	3. Nameless Blue

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 3**  
_Nameless Blue_**

**.**

The duel was more or less over, Shark thought. The cards were rare, but on a battlefield they weren't worth much. Still, everything helped. Every _bit_ helped. They didn't know why he needed all those cards and he wasn't going to tell them.

And he was going to silently curse himself for not buying enough booster packs before this started. He'd had an advantage over the others. He'd had an early warning. He hadn't listened to it. This was the price.

Not that it mattered. Being the bad guy was the price of too many of his actions, of his decision, and – he didn't mind. He was fine being the bad guy.

He was fine declaring that last attack so many people thought was unnecessary

**.**

Yuuma's heart thumped wildly. Those jaws looked even more enormous up close and his monster could not withstand it. And he couldn't destroy it. Even when he strengthened his monster enough. It was indestructible.

Xyz monsters were truly amazingly powerful. But they would also defeat him.

He couldn't let it defeat him. Tetsuo's deck was riding on this duel. And more… He was not deaf to the sound of metal being dragged coming closer. If he lost, they'd be left to the wolves without a weapon. He wouldn't have to worry about Akari's scolding because he'd never see Akari again. Or Kotori. Or his grandmother. Or his parents who were who knew where…

He brushed the tears that had started to form aside angrily. He could not afford them. If anything happened to Tetsuo now, or later, it would be his fault. And that, aside from feeling powerless, was the worst thing he could feel.

His vision was blurred. He rubbed his eyes again, harder – then stopped and stared. They'd been locked on. Black masses creating a wide circle. Were they afraid of the Xyz monster too? He hadn't heard of them being that level of intelligent before. Akari would be interested to know.

Then he noticed something else. Something on the field. Something _blue_ – it was definitely blue. He could tell, even under the street lamps.

Then he noticed the card he'd left face-down.

**.**

Tetsuo could have walked over there and bonked Yuuma on the head – if he wasn't frozen in place. He'd seen those black things surround them. The only way out was to force one's way but the only one with a monster strong enough to do that was Shark, and he was more focused on the duel. On getting more cards. Or on beating Yuuma. Or just on winning. The reason didn't really matter. So long as they made it out in one piece.

And just when it looked like they wouldn't, Yuuma pulled a card out of his sleeve. Or, rather, a card he'd played on the field and seemingly forgotten about. Not quite what Tetsuo would call a deus ex machina, but it would do.

They lived for another round.

And _God_, it sounded macabre. Not that there was anything they could do about the circumstances.

**.**

Yuuma silently thanked that blue…whatever it had been, for reminding him. Whether it was intention or not, it brought him another round.

Now he just had to make it count. Somehow. Because with the field looking the way it was, he wasn't going to last another round. If the dragon didn't have him for a midnight snack, the barnacle would. But what did he have in his deck that could save him? What..?

He drew his card while thinking – without noticing or acknowledging the touch of something else when he'd drawn – and stared at the card. He remembered it. His favourite, though he hadn't a clue how to work it into strategies. Double-Up Chance. But it had to fit into a strategy _somehow_. The card wouldn't have been designed otherwise.

He read the card description again. For it to work, the monster's attack had to be negated. It would have been dead useful when Shark had played Zeus Breath.

Then he noticed Shark had a face-down card on the field. And he had a card in his hand that could make an attack something short of suicidal. And if it worked, he'd have enough firepower to finish Shark off as well and win Tetsuo's deck back.

Maybe, just maybe…

What did he have to lose?

And he had another card which meant his gamble wouldn't cost him much if he lost it.

Because a gamble was the only hope he had to win.

'I summon Achacha Archer!' he cried, slapping the card in to his duel disk.

Shark let out a bit of a snort as masked warrior appeared and strung its bow. 'The 500 points of damage from its effect is a far cry from what you will feel next turn.'

'Not quite.' And Yuuma grinned, because when grinning he could pretend he wasn't scared he was going to screw this up. He could pretend he was confident in his strategy. That he hadn't miscalculated somewhere.

Then again, his miscalculation was usually missing the opponent's face down cards and effects. He knew them all now. He hoped.

Achacha Archer readied an arrow and fired it. Leviath Dragon caught the arrow in its powerful jaws and crushed it. Shark's points reduced, but by a small amount. He had plenty next over for a next term if it came to that. Less than Yuuma…for now. But that didn't matter. He had the better field. For now.

Yuuma clutched his hand: two magic cards. Two cards that could turn the tables in this duel.

_This has to work._

He only had a thousand life-points to bet.

He didn't notice the blue shadow still behind him.

**.**

Tetsuo stared at the duel in progress, at the duellists. He could do nothing else. He couldn't stare at those _things_ surrounding them. So he stared at the duellists. At the duel field. He saw Achacha Archer fire off 500 points of damage. And he had to wonder what Yuuma was thinking, summoning that monster in attack mode.

Then again, summoning him out in defence wouldn't have helped him much, with two monsters on the field and one that allowed itself to directly attack.

He just hoped it wasn't Yuuma's last-ditch effort to leave a scar. But his face looked different. Determined. Set. He had a plan.

Tetsuo just hoped it was a good plan.

'I activate the magic card: Full-Force Strike.'

Tetsuo blinked. That _was_ a good idea, though it depended on Shark's face-down. If Shark negated the attack, then it would be all over.

But if he didn't, Full-Force strike would mean Achacha Archer could attack that Leviath Dragon without being destroyed and without costing Yuuma any life-points. And it meant that Leviath Dragon would be destroyed after the attack.

But it also meant that Drill Barnacle would be able to attack next turn. It would be a blow to Shark's pride, nothing more. And he didn't think Shark was the sort who would kneel over to his pride.

Shark didn't think so either, because his sneer looked angry – but also mocking. He knew it too.

Yuuma declared his attack against Leviath Dragon.

**.**

Shark wondered if his opponent was really that stupid. He was on his last leg; everybody there knew it. And yet he'd sent in a level three monster with 1200 attack points and a pretty flimsy special ability.

Though that magic card was an eyesore. It wouldn't change the outcome of the duel. It could just potentially get them all killed – if Leviath Dragon, being an Xyz monster, was the only thing keeping those shadowy…_things_ on the perimeter. If Leviath Dragon was the only thing protecting them. If he had to send it to the graveyard and get it back out, then the kids –

He gritted his teeth. It was stupid. In a regular duel he would never have bothered. He didn't bow to such sentimentalities. But it wasn't a regular duel. And it wasn't sentimental. Not in that context.

It was too bad that Yuuma would still get away with 200 life points. Or it was too bad Leviath Dragon was a dragon type monster.

It didn't matter. Either Leviath Dragon or Drill Barnacle will take him down next turn.

'I activate Zeus Breath.'

He heard his opponent draw a hiss. It made him feel satisfied. Less cautious. But not overly so. He couldn't afford to be incautious.

'I negate your attack, and then you take 800 points of damage for every Fish, Serpent or Aqua on the field. Leviath Dragon may be a dragon-type, but Drill Barnacle is aqua.'

The blast of cold wind hit Yuuma and he stumbled back. His friend yelled for him. He held up a hand.

Shark frowned. He had only one card left. What card was there that could turn the tables now? Many a trap could, a tiny voice in his head reminded. Traps like Mirror Force.

But – no. He was playing his card now.

'I activate the instant magic card: Double Up Chance!

And, this time, it was Shark's turn to hiss. Double Up Chance. A card that required so precise a circumstance that most didn't bother keeping it in a deck. But that boy had it. And he'd used it.

And he'd used it correctly.

If he didn't lose the duel, it would be because Yuuma was idiot enough to attack the wrong monster.

_Damn it._ He clenched his fists._ Those 500 points mattered after all._

But he looked at his field. At his empty hand. There was really nothing he could have done to prevent it.

Yuuma – who'd had a reputation at school for being one of the worst duellists to duel on those fields – had bested him.

**.**

Yuuma's chest constricted almost painfully, but he pushed himself forward. It was finally time. _If this doesn't work…_

He heard Testuo yell his name and threw a thumbs up in his direction. He shook the doubt from his mind. It would work. It would.

And he hadn't missed anything.

'I activate the instant magic card: Double Up Chance!'

He slapped the card on to his duel disk.

He heard Shark's hiss. Tetsuo gaping in shock.

It would work.

'Double Up Chance allows a monster whose attack was negated to attack again – and it also doubles its attack points.'

He watched those attack points climb. Watched as Shark clenched his fists, unable to do anything. Pride swelled in his chest. He'd done it. He'd actually done it.

All he had to do now was declare the attack.

**.**

2400 points. It was enough to take down Drill Barnacle and the rest of his life-points.

The reason why he'd played Zeus Breath to begin with. But he'd had to use it too early. If only it had been a regular duel. If only he hadn't had to protect Leviath Dragon. If only –

There were too many to which he could say: 'if only'.

'Attack Drill Barnacle.'

If only, for once in his duelling life, Tsukumo Yuuma didn't make the right call.

For the first time in this duel, Shark was blasted off his feet. He landed on his right arm. The duel disk, luckily, was on his left. And the monsters stayed. Only the life point meter went down.

And that was good, because those things were still watching them.

'Leviath Dragon,' he said, sounding tired and worn to his own ears. Who knew what he sounded like to the others. And who really cared. 'Get rid of them.'

**.**

Tetsuo drew a sharp breath when he heard that. Them? As in him and Yuuma? The words rose to his lips with his terror. That Leviath Dragon could rip them apart but Yuuma had won the duel.

Then again, he'd never heard anything about Shark honouring his word. He'd never needed to. He'd never lost.

But Yuuma had just beaten him.

But Leviath Dragon was going to have them for a midnight snack anyway.

A bubbly laughter made it past his lips: short and almost inaudible. It was just too ridiculous.

Then Leviath Dragon roared and shot a blast of watery flame and Tetsuo realised he'd made a mistake.

By 'them' Shark had meant those things boxing them in. Or Leviath Dragon had taken it to mean them.

It didn't matter. Leviath Dragon – and the other monsters – disappeared with the last shadowy thing, and Tetsuo let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Yuuma walked over to Shark. Tried to help him up.

Shark slapped the hand away. 'Your spoils,' he said bitterly, tossing his deck.

Tetsuo watched the cards flutter on to the street, and Yuuma hastily picking them up. Tetsuo wondered if he should help. Or speak up. Or do anything other than watch.

But Yuuma was in his element now that the duel was over. And Tetsuo still had nothing backing him up.

He didn't want Shark's deck. But it was powerful. And it could get them through worse to come. And Yuuma had his sister, and his grandmother, to think about. And it was his win. It was up to him.

Yuuma ran to catch up to Shark when he was done. Tetsuo just barely heard his words. 'I don't want your deck, Shark. How will you fight those things next time? I only came for Tetsuo's.'

Shark turned around. He stared at Yuuma. At the deck he offered. 'I have plenty of decks.'

For some reason, it sounded like a lie. But Tetsuo knew first hand it was the truth.

'If I could duel for everybody's decks, I would.' Yuuma sounded serious – and more confident now that he'd won. 'But I can't. I'm not good enough. I could duel for Tetsuo because he's my best friend. Because he's like a brother to me.'

Tetsuo's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that. He knew it, of course, but knowing something and hearing them said weren't the same.

If only times were different…

'Tetsuo needs his deck.'

Shark took the offered deck, and turned around again. 'I don't have it with me.' He sounded a little less bitter now – or maybe it was his imagination. 'I wasn't exactly planning on bumping in to you after all. Wait here; I'll go get it.'

And he walked off. Yuuma looked towards Tetsuo and made a gesture. Tetsuo considered, then nodded. He was a little curious. And he wasn't fancying standing under the broken street lights waiting. Especially when Shark could still give them the slip.

They followed Shark.

* * *

**A/N:** I took Hope out of the equation initially. He'll pop up later. :D The duel, with Astral being a visible and talking form, takes another turn. Yuuma doesn't make the mistake with Gogogo Golem. And with the way the order of the monsters changed, he couldn't have anyhow. The last turn was the most important one, so that was the one shown in full detail.

Until next week!


	4. Two Sisters

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 4**  
_Two Sisters_**

**.**

Akari was waiting with her arms crossed when Yuuma and Testuo climbed the tree into the Tsukumo household.

'And where have you been?' she asked crossly.

Her hair stuck up in all directions and there was a firm crease in her forehead.

'I won,' Yuuma replied. 'I went to beat Shark and I won.'

Akari looked at Tetsuo, who nodded. 'And you?' she asked coolly. 'You didn't have a deck when you left.'

'I…was following Yuuma,' Testuo replied with a gulp. Akari was scary even when she wasn't yelling. 'I couldn't let him go alone.'

Akari sighed and covered her brow. 'I suppose you couldn't. But it didn't occur to you to wake me at least? I could have gotten a good story.' That last part sounded more like an excuse than a reason, but Tetsuo knew it was Akari's way of trying not to be a parent.

But when their parents had been missing for so long, it fell to the big sister and grandmother to do the parenting for the youngest in the household.

Akari looked at the both of them again. Her hands were now on her hips. They looked a little tired, and contemplative. Thinking about something they hadn't yet said – and however Yuuma had managed to win against a high calibre duellist with barely any experience of his own was a story in itself.

'Let's have breakfast,' she said finally. 'And you two aren't leaving out a single detail, you got that?'

She noticed the glances they threw at each other before trailing downstairs after her.

**.**

Akari didn't often regret keeping Yuuma from duels. Her parents had warned her for them and if keeping him from duelling meant protecting him, then so be it. But when he'd come home crying every day because everybody else duelling and everybody teased him for not doing so, she caved. Because he might be her dopey little brother but he was still her brother. That look on his face could have broken her heart.

But she'd given strict orders and she was good at making sure they were followed. Being a reporter helped. And being Yuuma's legal guardian which meant if she told the teachers Yuuma was only allowed to duel certain people on school grounds and that was _it_, then her request would be followed.

And considering Yuuma was hopeless at sneaking out, she was sure he didn't get in many duels when she wasn't looking.

But it was a problem now. When duelling was the only thing that meant safety on the streets. Yuuma had duelled too few people to truly hone his skills. People like Tetsuo who always managed to win because he was faster at evolving than Yuuma was. Even Kotori managed to beat Yuuma most of the time – and there was the sparse duel with a few other classmates that Yuuma tended to do a tad better in. Beginner's luck, they'd call it. And it probably was because the last time he'd beaten Kotori (who barely duelled herself) was when they were all back in junior high.

But desperation pulled all sorts of powers from people. Akari was just worried the power it had pulled was something her parents had feared. Something that she'd been trying to prevent.

**.**

'A blue shadow?' Akari repeated. She'd never heard of such a thing.

Then again, just a few months ago, she'd never heard of black shadowy things causing the city to crumble and people to disappear. Friends, families, classmates – they were lucky in that their three-person family was still in tact and Tetsuo's family as well. But so many people had already been met with tragedy. Husbands. Wives. Daughters. Sons. Brothers. Sisters. And pets… Of course, the pets had been the first to go, unable to fight back.

Yuuma shovelled more rice into his mouth. It was barely seasoned, but that didn't bother any of them. Rice was food. Rice had energy. Rice was in plenty for now – because the moment Akari had caught wind of the disaster, she'd taken the car and packed it with simple things: rice, flour, dried fruits, matches and anything else she could think of. A few bottles of water too, just in case (and Tetsuko, in the same position, had done similarly). But they still had electricity and gas and water coming through. Phone lines and internet though were gone.

They'd started using their smaller duel monsters as messengers. How it worked they had no clue, and what would happen when the electricity died they had no clue as well. But it worked as a well enough substitute for the phones – better, in some cases. If she hadn't heard the tree outside creak when she did, she would have sent Eaves the Sound Fairy out. No point sending out Spy the Vision in poor light.

She wondered if it was still worth trying to curb Yuuma's duels – or go ahead and make him stronger.

She chewed at the end of her spoon.

'Nee-san?'

'What?' she asked, before realising she hadn't been paying attention. 'Sorry, repeat?'

Yuuma gave her an odd look. Which was fair enough; it wasn't like Akari to miss a part of a story. 'That blue shadowy thing pointed at my face-down card and I realised I could still get out of that jam.'

'So that's why you almost gave me a heart-attack!' Tetsuo exclaimed suddenly, almost choking on his own rice. 'I thought you were going for dramatics.'

Akari sighed. It wouldn't have been unusual if Yuuma _had_ been going for dramatics – though she hoped he would avoid that in a life or death duel. Rather, she'd hoped he wouldn't become _involved_ in one – but there was that hope out the window.

Still, it sounded like a stroke of luck – or an angel from who knew where – who had come to Yuuma's aid and let him win the duel.

'And then I had these cards and an idea but Shark had his face down card…'

Of course, Yuuma always got tripped up with those.

'…but I realised if it could negate my attack, I could use Double-Up Chance, and I figured, with a weak monster on the field, it was probably that –'

Akari could have hit her head. More likely it would have been a card to _divert_ attacks. An easy trap to walk in to. But drawing cards wasn't as simple as that and it might have been many other things: a bluff because the duel was so close to an end, or, as Yuuma had thought, a card to completely negate an attack.

'And it was –'

Lucky strike number two, Akari thought wryly.

'And I won,' Yuuma finished brightly. 'And Shark didn't have Tetsuo's deck with him because I don't think he was expecting to bump into us like that, so he went to get it –'

'Did you follow?' Akari asked.

They glanced at each other again, then said "no" together.

Akari pursed her lips. Haru shook her head from across the table and Akari made a mental note. She wondered why those two didn't want to say what they'd seen. Maybe they'd made a promise? Or they'd seen something they were ashamed to repeat?

Still, there were a few things in that story that concerned her so she'd definitely be checking on things.

But first… 'So Shark returned the deck.'

They both nodded.

'And did he say anything else?'

Yuuma put his spoon down. 'He offered his own deck,' he confessed. 'That wasn't right, so I refused.'

Akari rolled her eyes, but she grinned. Of course her soft baby brother wouldn't feel right about taking the soul of a duellist – even if the said person had taken many a soul himself. 'And those black shadows were _afraid_ of the Xyz monsters?'

Another nod. Akari thought about that. They didn't have too many Xyz monsters. Both of them had inherited their parents' decks and Xyz were new and expensive and hard to get. She had one she'd managed to procure from her line of work. Yuuma had none at all. Though it wasn't like they could just rock up to the game store and order them. Not that game stores sold them.

In fact, there were few people in the city with access to Xyz monsters. And most of them were behind the worlds of the heart of Heartland.

**.**

Akari set off on her motorcycle with Tetsuo after informing Yuuma he was to sit on his head for a fortnight. Of course, he wasn't going to actually do it and she didn't expect him to. But there wasn't really a way to ground someone who was stuck inside without much to do anyway so she might as well say something nonsensical and get a little grin and a look of horror mixed in one.

She'd sent Spy ahead to Tetsuko. The days were, on the whole, safer, and they could meet up at the shopping complex (or where the shopping complex) had once been, and Tetsuko could take her little brother back with her. Even better now that Tetsuo had his deck back. Now if only they could fix the duel disk… Luckily, Tetsuo's father was one of the men who worked at that sort of job.

That plan went off without a hitch and Akari waved them off before detouring to the school. She actually had another assignment but she couldn't let this go by. Spy flew ahead, searching. Akari followed. The things were numerous here, she realised. But at some point she passed them and they grew less and less until there was none at all.

It was almost like they could sense the presence of something. Something they were trying to draw closer to, but were unable to do so.

And then she found the school. Broken buildings, but they looked like they were still being use. By who? Her brow furrowed. People had been warned away, since the school had been the first to fall.

Then she saw a little boy dash across. He saw her, froze, then dashed off again with a scream.

Shark appeared from one of the other buildings.

Akari frowned.

**.**

'Did that boy tell you?' Shark asked sullenly.

'If you're talking about my brother,' Akari replied, 'then no. And neither did his friend – the one you beat yesterday.' Seeing the look of suspicion still, she explained: 'I'm a reporter. It's my job to poke my nose in where it doesn't belong.'

When Shark didn't say anything, she prompted. 'So…the children?' They milled around her now, curious but frightened. 'They're none of the missing, are they?' She was pretty sure they weren't, but missing peoples wasn't her department.

Shark scoffed. 'Some reporter,' he said.

Akari shrugged, uninsulted. 'My job is to find out what's behind the mess. It's the police who search for missing people.'

Shark considered that. 'They're orphans,' he said finally. 'The orphanage was destroyed.'

Akari blinked. The pieces fell smoothly in to place. 'And you needed cards to protect them.'

'Of course.'

'And you realised that Xyz monsters can keep them at bay?'

'Can they?' His lips thinned and his eyes glazed in thought. 'I suppose they can. I just needed power. Since everyone else seemed fine with abandoning them.'

The children started talking then, over each other so that Akari struggled to hear them until Shark raised a hand. They fell quiet, but they looked scared and angry now. And upset.

It sounded like people close to them had abandoned them.

'And you?' Akari asked. 'Why have you stayed?'

He smirked. The same bitter smirk he'd worn the previous day, but now Akari could see a little more as to what it meant. 'I'll abandon them too if it comes to it.'

Akari knew as well as the children that it was both the truth and a lie.

And she also knew she was missing something. She dug around in her head. Something about Shark. Something about his family –

Then she remembered. 'And your sister? She's still at the hospital, or did you take her?'

'What about it?' he asked roughly.

But they both knew what. The hospital was still safe, but for how long? And the school, that had already been hit once. How long would that last?

Then again, how long would any of them last?

**.**

'You didn't mention the kids,' Akari said, after she'd gotten back home.

Yuuma shuffled guiltily. 'Shark was mad we'd followed.'

Akari was still a little surprised he hadn't been madder at her. Then again, she was an adult. It was easier to push around younger people. And she'd used her own prowess to find his little hide-out.

She'd promised not to tell as well. She knew how many vultures would swoop down on those little children if given half a chance. Recourses. The food the cafeteria had – and how nobody had thought about it yet, she didn't know. The medicine in the infirmary. The cards used for teaching…and what else Shark had been able to procure (less-honest methods aside).

'All the things that happen in the world,' she said aloud.

Yuuma blinked.

'I mean, we'd thought Shark was just being greedy,' she clarified, 'but he was trying to keep those kids alive.'

Yuuma nodded. He understood that. 'Nee-san? Can we help them?'

'I don't think so.' Yuuma's face drooped. Akari ruffled his hair.

It was the unfortunate truth. If things went on, it would be hard enough in the coming months to keep just themselves alive. The orphans, the old, the injured and sick would be the first to be abandoned. And the children, those too young to defend themselves.

At least she was doing something to try and curb that. Finding information. And resources.

'Which reminds me,' she said, snapping her fingers. 'I didn't see anything like your blue shadow.'

'I didn't make it up!' Yuuma exclaimed.

She didn't think she did. And, honestly, she hadn't been expecting to find it out there.

Where it was was probably in her parents' research notes.

Which were mostly behind the wall.

**.**

**.**

**A/N:** Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. RL got I the way as it tends to do. :D The next chapter will hopefully still be up on Sunday. Cross your fingers!


	5. Stakeout

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 5**  
_Stakeout_**

**.**

Once she had a plan of action, it was only a matter of making it happen.

Or, maybe, "only" wasn't an appropriate term to use. Because it was far easier said than done.

Luckily, she had good friends. And an inconspicuous little brother who also had good friends. Not that she was planning on letting them get into any danger – but little adventures kept them from getting too restless and Kotori and Yuuma especially had the perfect monsters to use for communications – now that mobiles were out. One of them could stick with her since that meant she could send her fairies over the wall to hunt for an entry. Kotori would be strategically better, but it might be less weight on her mind to bring Yuuma.

It would be just like when he'd go camping with his father. Except sister-brother bonding instead of father-child.

She nodded to herself. Yuuma it was. She could give him a few duelling tips as well. Goodness knows he'd be needing them and she'd been so busy investigating lately she hadn't really found the time. An opportunity for multitasking had shown itself, and she'd be a fool not to take it.

Tetsuko's deck – and Tetsuo's for that matter – didn't have many small mobile creatures, so Kotori could go with Tetsuko and Tetsuo with someone else she could wrangle up. She wondered if Shark would be interested in trying to work out a way across the world. They had the means to mass produce cards – and rumour had it that the most powerful cards in the city were there.

She made a note to stop by and ask. After a few trial nights to make sure it wasn't a totally hopeless idea.

**.**

'You're letting me go out?' Yuuma repeated in surprise. 'And at night to boot?'

'You'll be with me this time,' Akari explained. 'And that means you'll do _exactly _what I tell you do to do. So if I tell you to run with your tail between your legs, you're going to do it.'

Yuuma frowned, then pulled a face. 'I don't have a tail.'

He could have given a worse answer. At least the brief flicker across his face told Akari he'd understood her implications.

'Not that I'm expecting anything to happen,' she continued, 'but it's always better to be safe than sorry. We're just looking for general structure. Entrances. Guards. That sort of thing. I'm not expecting anything to happen at this stage at all – but who knows how tight the security is. They might see us coming from a mile away.'

She would very much like to avoid that.

'Are we going to dress up?' Yuuma asked. 'So they don't recognise us?'

'Of course.' She was a girl, but this was a mission and she said that in a matter-of-fact way. 'Disguises are a must. And if we take the form of scavenges, they probably won't look too hard for us.'

She saw a scant few of those at the square. Not the same ones. Old ones were caught by the black things. New ones replaced them when they ran out of food or their living quarters were dismantled.

Just yesterday, an apartment building had collapsed. There were more scavenges today than any other. And it would continue as more homes were destroyed – the closely packed ones with lots of people first, then the spaced out larger homes like theirs. The desperation both floundered and grew but now that there was a new lead, they were full of energy again. Which meant nobody could sit idle. Even if it meant facing whatever was behind that mountainous wall.

Because nothing was worse than waiting or death.

'So, are you in?' Akari asked.

Truthfully, she didn't even need to ask.

'You bet I am.' Then he grinned, suddenly looking like a child. 'Kattobing.'

'Kattobing,' Akari agreed.

Their father's favourite catchphrase. That their entire family had inherited. And friends who'd picked it up along the way.

**.**

The first stakeout point was where they could barely make out the main gate. There was no point keeping just the wall in view. They could see it from anywhere in the city, the way it was designed. Yuuma was getting fidgety but Akari had given him a pen and paper to write down every noise and black thing that made him turn, so he was coming up with quite a list.

And trusting Yuuma to either scream or warn her if they got too close, Akari focused her full attention on the door.

So only Akari saw the figure of something – or someone – fly across the wall.

**.**

'It's almost a ghost town,' Orbital-7 said mournfully.

Kaito, who could see people wandering around in the darkness, had to disagree. Or maybe "almost" was right on the money. Not that it really mattered. They weren't out there to save the people. Nor could they. They'd jump on him the moment he landed and that would be his only chance to save the person who truly mattered lost. Regardless of whether he won such a struggle or not.

No. There was another reason he was in flight that night – and other nights. So high up that to the blindsighted wanderers on the ground, he probably looked like just another star in a grey night. Below were those black nameless things wandering, searching –

Those poor fools didn't realise just what it was they were looking for.

Or how to fight them.

Ironic how the weapons typically fell into the hands of the scavengers. Those who tried to scrape their livelihood from the remnants of their city. Who didn't even have a complete deck to fight with. Such salvation was wasted on them. Worse, it painted neon targets on their chests.

He did them a favour, relieving them of those weapons.

A child with a gun was dangerous after all. More dangerous than an adult who knew how to use it. Not just to others, but to themselves. Especially in a world where everything was a danger to someone else.

'Signal detected,' Orbital 7 said suddenly. 'Signal detected.'

'Take us down,' ordered Kaito.

They were going to find another one.

**.**

He landed almost soundlessly in the rubble. But the sound didn't matter. He wore white. He saw no reason to flee with the darkness.

He set his trusted dragon card. Photon Dragon was even brighter than the cards he wore but it was his ultimate weapon. It blinded everything: human, monster and nameless thing that crossed paths with it.

He tightened his gloves and waited for the time to flip it.

Those nameless things were there. All around. They turned towards him. He stared back at them. They, at least, recognised him to some extent. It would take a while before they attacked.

As for the poor lumbering fool ahead of him…

As soon as he came into view, they surrounded him immediately.

Kaito, personally, thought it was a poor method. They cringed away from all Xyz monsters and from these ones most of all. It required someone else – someone like _him_ – to take those jewels away, to where they were needed.

He flipped over his dragon. Photon roared and the shadowy, nameless things reeled. The scavenger, clothed in scraps, reeled as well. Not Kaito. Kaito had known his dragon too long. It wouldn't blind him.

'Your Number,' he said. Photon followed him. 'I'll duel you for it.'

The man – it was a man under those rags – scrambled away from the blinding light. 'Duel,' he muttered. Cards fell about him as he tried to find one. The Number, Kaito presumed. They had a way of grabbing one's soul.

But it didn't look like this guy even had a duel disk to duel. Or enough cards; too few fluttered about him and he paid no heed to them.

One card, no matter how powerful, could only last so long without a duel disk or deck.

Kaito drew his gloved fist back and punched.

**.**

Tetsuko and Kotori were watching the city square. It had seemed like an odd place but it was also the place with the most activity during the day. People came searching for provisions. Most things weren't to be found anymore but there were some things that seemed to appear day by day. Scraps of clothing mostly. Those who lost their homes were most in need for them.

But if there was something going on, that would be the place to see, while the backs of the police were turned. Those men and women who day and night tried to protect everything – but they couldn't be everywhere at once and though they knew what was responsible but not once had they seen it with their own eyes.

Kotori and Tetsuko were also hiding from the police. That night, they wanted to see what the police missed.

Though they wondered if they'd have to fight first. The black things were slowly growing in number, and growing near.

'Can they sense us?' Kotori all but squeaked. She was half-wishing she hadn't agreed to this – but Yuuma and Tetsuo and their sisters needed her help and she couldn't turn them down.

Also, it felt good to be able to finally _do_ something. Even if it meant coming out in the night with those _things_ on the loose.

'I don't know.' Tetsuko sounded uncomfortable too. 'Maybe that's why the more densely populated places go first.'

Kotori shivered. Tetsuko put a hand on her shoulder. 'We've both got decks,' she said. 'And though we don't have exceed monsters, I've got some butt-kicking winged beasts and you've got some tough fairies.'

Kotori nodded. Her strongest was Archangel Christina. Which was pretty strong. Tethys should be good too, in this case.

'You know,' Tetsuko continued, 'it's weird how you and Akari both have fairy decks. They seem so docile.'

Kotori flushed a little, keeping her head towards the north as though she was staring at something. She was, but nothing in particular. 'Fairies are cute,' she said.

'But can you hear Akari saying that?'

Kotori considered. 'No…'

'Hence it's weird.' Tetsuko gave a low cry suddenly, and Kotori whipped around.

They saw a boy land on a rock and summon a dragon.

**.**

It was like water in their eyes. They blinked rapidly, but it still took a moment for their vision to clear.

The boy was gone, but there was someone lying there. And those things were starting to pull.

Kotori stood up. Tetsuko had already sent out Wind Spirit God – Wind Rose.

The bird-like beast roared. The black things drew back but nothing more.

Tetsuko frowned. 'Couldn't they have been magic cards or traps?'

Kotori squinted at the text. Wind Spirit God – Wind Rose destroys all spells and traps the opponent controls.

She agreed. It would have been nice if they'd go that easily.

But when the winged beast swiped a talon, the things scattered. And collected.

There were still too many.

'This suddenly seems like a bad idea,' Tetsuko muttered, searching through her deck. 'Come on, where are you lot.'

Kotori quickly slapped down Archangel Cristina.

The two managed far better than one did. The black things eventually melted into the shadows.

But when they got to where they'd seen the flash of light, they saw only cards and a shoe without its pair.

**.**

Akari and Yuuma had an uneventful night. The black things didn't come near them, nor did anything else. All they had to show the next day were numb bottoms and stiff appendages.

But there was a message from Kotori waiting for them. Dancing Fairies – since Tetsuko's deck was packed with savage birds and other sorts of wing beasts and there wasn't much in there that could be called small.

And she frowned as she read the hand-signs. It had taken them a bit to learn, but it was dead useful. Since their duel monsters couldn't talk.

'Yuuma!' she barked.

Yuuma had collapsed head first into bed, and he grumbled and thumped around before poking his head out of the hole he called a door.

'Grab a jacket and your deck,' she said. 'We're going to Tetsuko's.'

It was faster if they took the motorbike than if either of them tried the car.


	6. The Hunter

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 6  
**_The Numbers_**

**.**

Kaito flew back over the wall. It had been an okay night. Not particularly fruitful, but not bad, considering.

He needed to hurry things up though.

He could hear his brother screaming already.

But he couldn't rush. And he couldn't be careless.

Mr Heartland was waiting at the gate.

He didn't even need to give the command to Orbital 7 to descend.

**.**

The road was clear so they made good time. Sometimes they were lucky; sometimes not. This must have been one of the lucky days.

Akari hurried into the patio and knocked on the door. Tetsuko had opened it by the time Yuuma caught up, and by the time Tetsuo had come out of his room at the noise, everyone else was sitting at the table.

Except Mrs Takeda who was busy making breakfast for everybody.

'Grandma's cooking's going to go to waste,' Yuuma said suddenly, staring at the stove.

'We'll have it for lunch,' Akari snapped. _Boys, honestly…_ But she reconsidered that thought. Everything was a scarcity. And perhaps the only reason they hadn't run out of necessities like that was because the population shrank by the day.

Thank goodness she wasn't the poor woman who had to keep _that_ list up to date.

**.**

He paid a quick visit to Haruto. The screaming had stopped and now he was sleeping off the effects. That was fine. He brushed his brother's brow gently. It was cool – as cool as he remembered it being.

He sighed. Once, Haruto had been so lively.

That was a long time ago though.

Once, the world had been bright and beautiful too.

That had also been a long time ago. Longer than the month or so the people of Heartland City thought it to be.

At least, now, things were going to start changing.

He gave his brother one last smile. 'Bye, Haruto,' he said. 'I'll be back soon, okay?'

Haruto didn't answer. Haruto didn't even seem to here.

Kaito left the room.

**.**

'Someone flying,' Akari repeated thoughtfully. 'I don't think we have any reports of that.'

'I imagine you wouldn't,' Tetsuko agreed. 'If he'd noticed us, he wouldn't done something I imagine. As it was, it took two pretty high-levelled monsters to cut a part through those black things… They really need a name, you know.'

Akari disagreed. Giving them a name meant putting a name to their predators, giving them that much extra power. And they didn't need that power.

'The boy summoned a dragon of some kind,' Tetsuko continued. 'Really bright. Like…blinding.'

'Literally,' Kotori agreed, wiping her mouth. 'Like a camera flash. We couldn't see for a few minutes.'

Akari groaned. 'I'm guessing you missed something useful in that.' It would just figure. Not that they could have helped that. Except wearing sunglasses. Which probably would have been a liability in the darkness. 'What sort of dragon?'

She could think of Blue Eyes right off the bat, but it couldn't be that. Blue Eyes was like one of the _Gods_ of duel monsters. Buried with their original owner over a hundred years ago. Black Magician likewise. And Elemental Hero Neos. All the staples of the men and woman who'd created Duel Monsters, who'd made it come alive, who'd become its heroes.

She frowned thoughtfully. There was another dragon too. But she was pretty sure it was wind and not light.

And there was no way in hell there was still a duel disk capable of reading _those_ sorts of cards.

Was there?

**.**

He stood on a broken wall where the mall once stood. There were lots of people, all things considered. People running a business: people who had things to cell. That wasn't much. Clothes and things. Non-perishables. Things people weren't desperate for, like food.

He wondered what they'd do when the food ran out. Some people had stocked up and would last a few months still. Others looked half starved. They'd start breaking into places soon. Stealing life-food from others. From those who'd been smarter when the world had gone dark.

Humans were just despicable that way.

And it just went to show. How the shadows were attracted to them.

And he was the hunter, chasing the shadows.

If he were religious, he could have called himself the angel of death.

But he wasn't.

He was just trying to hang on to his little brother, all he had left in this wretched world.

**.**

'Can they be destroyed?' Yuuma asked.

'That's not right,' Tetsuo said.

Yuuma just looked contemplative.

And Akari didn't think his squishy-hearted kid brother was thinking of killing anything. He was just asking the question. 'I think…' she said slowly, 'there wouldn't be so many of those things out there if we could kill them. And people wouldn't be so scared.'

'But we're using stronger and stronger monsters against them.' He frowned. 'It's just…what if they're too strong, one day?'

'It's them or us,' Akari said flatly. 'It's them or us, kid.'

'Why ask?' Tetsuko asked.

'Because…oh, I dunno.' Yuuma pulled something out of his deck. Akari blinked in surpise. An Xyz monster. When had he gotten that? 'It just seems sad.'

'Where did you get that?' she asked sharply.

'This?' Yuuma held the card out to her. Number 17: Leviath Dragon. 'Shark used it against me. Remember when he tried to give me his deck?'

Akari nodded. But Yuuma had said he hadn't taken it.

'Well, this somehow wound up in my deck. Even though I didn't take it.' He didn't say "I swear" like he tended to when he was lying. 'And when I tried to give it back, Shark ignored me.'

'He looked like he couldn't see the card,' Tetsuo added. 'I forgot about it afterwards, but now that I think about it, it's strange. And he didn't use that against me.'

'Number 17,' Akari repeated. 'I've never heard of Numbers before.'

Neither had anyone else.

**.**

There were no Numbers in the square. It happened sometimes, but rarely. Or, if there had wandered there, they hadn't yet been nurtured.

Numbers weren't any good until they'd been nurtured. Formed. Solidified.

Orbital stretched his range further. Kaito waited silently. It would be a wasted day if there was nothing to find. Because there were far too many Numbers left to retrieve.

'Found one,' Orbital beeped finally.

It was in a house. That was unusual.

And breaking and entering might rile up what semblance of society was still left.

'Let's take a look anyway,' he decided.

**.**

Akari decided Yuuma was better off staying with Tetsuo and Kotori for the day (and the rest of the Takedas who'd keep an eye on them) while she headed off to work.

Especially since she was causing a bit of a stir at work.

After all, she'd managed to dug up quite a bit in the last few days. And had come armed with many a question to boot.

'Numbers and dragons,' her boss surmised, shaking his head. 'That's what this comes down to. Numbers and dragons.'

He set people up searching for the dragons. Akari hadn't seen it, and Tetsuko and Kotori hadn't been able to give much of a description. And it was possible it came from across the wall. They'd have to make sure to look up next time. They hadn't thought of that before.

'We'll look into it,' he said, and she nodded. Reporters were the best at digging out obscure information after all. They'd find it. If the rich government people behind the walls of Heartland's centre hadn't locked it away. And maybe even then. Maybe when it wasn't a blind search or just an act of rebellion.

Or, who knew, maybe it was time for a rebellion. Maybe that was a way into Heartland, into the secret behind this newly forming world.

But rebellions were bloody. Causing unnecessary loss. And they had plenty of that already, didn't they?

**.**

Kaito looked at the house. It was modest. A woman and four kids. Or two women and three kids. One seemed like a young adult. The age where you couldn't differentiate between adolescence and adulthood. The three younger ones looked nothing like each other. Maybe they weren't siblings after all. Friends then. Having a little tea party while the world fell apart around them.

They had a toolbox spread out between them. Two were passing things to the third. That third had a duel disk on his lap. Trying to fix it.

Awfully careless, to let the only weapon that really worked get damaged.

That wasn't his problem though.

All he cared about were the Numbers.

Which one of them had it?

He watched them. None of them seemed like the type. Quick to anger. Narrow-focused. Half-blind. Stumbling, clutching their prize and abandoning the rest – if it got to that.

The signal wasn't that strong. It had never gotten to that. Not to totally consuming the mind. But, if he didn't know better, he would've walked by those people without a second glance. They weren't despaired. They weren't the sort of blood the Numbers fed off.

Especially when they turned to a duel on a mat, then a pillow fight.

That sort of thing didn't even exist anymore.

And yet he was watching it.

**.**

It had been a heavy morning, but things relaxed once Akari had gone off to work and Tetsuo had brought out his duel disk to fix. Inside the Takeda home, it was just three friends and one friend's older sister. They talked about lots of things. The adventure Kotori had missed out on. The one Tetsuo and Yuuma had missed out on. Some impromptu duelling lessons from Akari –

And, as an interim, Kotori and Yuuma duelled on a duelling mat while Tetsuo watched. Then volunteered himself in a two on one duel: Kotori and Yuuma vs. him.

He beat them both. They threw pillows at him in retaliation.

**.**

Finally, another woman arrived. Or girl. She was young, though she drove a motorcycle. She picked one of the boys up. Orbital told her the signal was on the move.

So that was the boy who had the Number.

Kaito lost him to speed, but followed Orbital's tracking at his own pace.

**.**

'We'll have grandma's food for dinner,' Akari said almost apologetically, scanning the mall area. But they'd had lunch at the Takedas too so it wasn't that big a deal. So long as they came over to have a few meals with them to even the score. Something they wouldn't have even worried about in normal times. 'I need more bullets.'

She didn't. Not yet. But she would soon. Especially with her job. And her goals. And her grandmother and little brother. Her deck and duel disk wouldn't always be there. Tetsuo's damaged duel disk was testament of that. And Shark.

And she'd prefer to have something more reliable than Yuuma's duelling skills. What had happened against Shark seemed to have been a fluke. He hadn't shown that aptitude since, though she'd been working with him. Hopefully he would. Or she was going to screw old laws and find a firearm for him too.

Bullets and firearms were only still available because most of Heartland's population had no clue how to use a gun and, at some point, there'd been quite a few horror stories about the accidents. Decks were safer. It didn't take a brain or experience to slap a card onto a duel disk. So the card shop had been raided and every card almost stripped from its pack.

A few cards appeared every now and then. Dropped. Tossed aside. Not always weaker ones too. Maybe they belonged to the people devoured by the shadows. Who knew?

'You stay right here,' she said, turning back to Yuuma and pointing at her motorcycle. 'I'm going there.' She pointed.

Yuuma nodded. He rolled his eyes too. 'I can take care of myself.'

'Don't get cocky.' But she ruffled his hair.'

**.**

They stopped in the mall area. Kaito whistled and the shadows gathered. People moved away. Those wanderers who hadn't anything better to do. They were scared off. The police trying to defend the area called out their monsters. That was fine. They were sufficiently distracted.

He summoned his Galaxy Eyes. The blinding light tore through the place where the motorcycle was passed, and the boy whined and covered his eyes.

'Hand over your Number,' Kaito demanded, stepping up.

The boy stared sightlessly at him. 'What? Do you know about –'

Kaito blinked, then frowned and activated his duel disk.

Had he been careless? Or was it someone else? Or had he noticed?

It didn't matter. 'I'll duel you for it,' he offered. It wasn't a kind offer, but pride was an important thing. About all they had left to be called human.

Almost everyone who fed a Number lost the privilege to be called human.

But this boy's eyes flickered to the shadows – kept in bay by the light – then activated his duel disk.

He'd called the bluff. If it was a bluff.

In any case, it'd been a while since Kaito had actually duelled.


	7. Galaxy Eyes

**The Plague of Darkness**

Chapter 6  
**_Galaxy Eyes_**

**.**

They began a duel.

It was a little bit like duelling Shark. Something, Yuuma realised, he had very little experience in.

Which meant this guy needed something from him to protect something precious as well.

Like Shark had all those little kids to look out for. He hadn't realised it that night, but he knew now. He'd learnt that feeling after that duel.

But, at the same time, that Xyz monster which, for whatever reason, had stayed with him was one of the few defences they had against those _things_.

And there may very well come a time when he needed to protect the people important to _him_.

**.**

Kaito took the first turn. In a professional duel a coin was flipped by an unbiased third party and in less structured but no less honourable matches, one was polite and offered their opponent the choice. But in battle, speed was of the essence: the first strike always a valued one, and he wasn't going to sacrifice that edge.

He had one Daybreaker in his hand. And a possibility to get all three.

And so he used that possibility. Returning Goddess of the Mind's Eye, Shine Angel and the copy of Daybreaker in his hand to his deck and pulling out that same Daybreaker, plus his other two copies.

Next was a combination Photon Lead and Daybreaker's monster effect which had all three Daybreakers on the field.

And then the first Xyz summon of the match.

He allowed himself a small grin at the other's face.

**.**

Yuuma hadn't even had a turn yet and the duel had already spiralled out of control. At first, he'd wondered about the roundabout way of summoning monsters. But then it had become obvious.

Number 10: White Light Knight – Illuminator. And Number 20 as well: Gig-Ant Brilli-Ant.

Two Xyz monsters. A rank 4 and a rank 3. He only had one: Leviath Dragon.

And it had been hard enough to get around _that_ monster.

But there was no way he was throwing in the towel so easily.

Even if it was going to be tough holding both those monsters off.

'Hurry up,' the duellist snapped. Or not… Yuuma noticed a bot behind him. He hadn't ever seen them do more than pick up the trash – and he hadn't seen one in a while, period. The city had better things to use their power supplies on. Unless of course Tetsuko's and Akari's suspicions were correct…

'Do you come from across the wall?' he asked curiously and, to his amazement, there was no waver in his tone.

'Make your move,' the duellist said in reply.

Yuuma sighed, gulped, and drew a card.

_Gogogo Golem_. He stared at it, then remembered all those voices of the past reminding him of its effect.

It was hard to fight off the grin as he set it.

And it would only last him one turn anyway. But there was nothing else helpful in his hand.

'Turn end.'

The opponent drew his next card without preamble. Two attacks… Yuuma braced himself.

But first, the overlay effects were triggered. And it was the invisible one that was more terrifying. Drawing a card – who knew what card would come from that. A dud or a gamechanger or anything in between. The three hundred attack point rise was easier to deal with.

The two monsters attacked. As planned, the first attack hit the wall. The second shattered it. Yuuma could only thank every person who'd scolded him about playing that card wrong for leading him to play it _right_ this time.

'Saved,' he sighed in relief.

**.**

Kaito smirked. 'That was just a warm-up,' he said.

The boy's relief quickly faded. And why not, when he'd summoned out two Numbers, two Xyz monsters, on the very first turn.

But those Numbers were stepping stones. For him. For Haruto. And for Mr Heartland and Dr Faker as well. Stepping stones for everybody. Just like the main populace of Heartland City now were.

It was pitiful, but also oddly rousing. Usually they weren't real duels. Opponents were too scared. Too consumed.

This could have been him duelling Chris back when he was young and innocent and the world was a terribly small thing.

The world wasn't so small now. And neither was the stuffed dragon he'd thought could keep away all their enemies.

Now it was large as life, and blindingly bright.

**.**

He sacrificed his Xyz monsters.

Yuuma thought that was crazy. 'The Xyz monsters are the strongest defence we have!' he cried.

'No.' And the smirk seemed empty somehow. Born from necessity. '_This_ is stronger.'

And he summoned it. A blinding white dragon. What Tetsuko and Kotori had described didn't do this monster justice at all.

'Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon.'

…_right_.

Yuuma swallowed again, his eyes watering. He wanted to rub at them but the D-Gazer was in the way. And, by some miracle, the eyepiece still worked. Tetsuo's didn't. Neither did Akari's. But even without the eyepiece, they had other functions. The communications one was shot but the most important one still seemed to be functional.

It still got in the way of him trying to rub the blinding light out of his eyes.

'Turn end,' the other boy said.

Yuuma drew a card and waited for it to come into focus. 3000 attack points and who knew what sort of special ability. He'd never heard of Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon before and while that'd be cook usually, the circumstances had something else to say.

He didn't have any monster in his deck with more or equal attack points than that. Few people did. Most of those cards weren't in print anymore. Legends like the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

But there were other ways. If he could pull off the combo he used against Shark.

But there was nothing in his hand that was going to help with that. He did however have a different possibility.

Gagaga Magician, Wonder Wand and Unprecedented Wind. Lifting Gagaga Magician's attack points to 3700.

But the attach vanished when he declared it.

'What?'

**.**

Galaxy Eyes wouldn't go down that easily. Though he had to confess himself _slightly_ impressed.

It was also a poor strategy to use half a hand strengthening the one monster. Most duellists didn't have an unlimited supply of power-up cards too, so the more used for one blow meant the less to be called upon in later times.

And those cards were useless once the monster vanished from play.

Even if it was to return.

'Galaxy Eyes' monster effect,' he explain. 'When attacked, he banishes himself and the attaching monster. And they return at the end of the battle phase – without their adornments.'

'What are adorn – ' Yuuma began, before the question was answered for him.

Gagaga Magician stood with 1500 attack points. Both power-ups were gone.

'Oh oh.'

**.**

Usually, he used that tactic against Numbers. It worked well, since it snatched up their overlay units at the same time for an additional boost. But it worked just fine to stop any attack – particularly those from power-upped monsters.

Because all equips and temporary power-ups disappeared into the void. Only the monster returned.

Leaving the boy holding the Number all but defenceless.

The other boy sets a card. Which, if the duelling so far was anything to go by, was a flimsy defence.

'My turn,' he said, and declared an attack immediately. It caused 1500 points of damage, and the other stumbled back with a little scream. Kaito listened carefully, but nobody came. The light of Galaxy Eyes must be keeping them at bay – or else they didn't care.

Usually they didn't care, but he'd seen someone with this boy before and he was fairly certain that woman would.

Not that it made a difference to his mission to obtain the Number.

**.**

Akari, meanwhile, had seen the burst of light but was having a hard time pinpointing it – as well as Yuuma and her motorcycle. And her fairies weren't much help either. All of them too dependent on their senses. Though they were reporters…or the deck of a reporter anyway. Senses were important.

But that light left all their senses numb. Not just sight but there was a slight buzz in her ears as well. And theirs'. They were yelling at each other to hear and stumbling around, tripping over debris.

And Akari was worried, because in that bright light, danger and her brother could be anywhere.

She just hoped they weren't in the same place.

**.**

Yuuma's turn had come again, and he drew a card. 1500 points of damage in one turn was no casual matter, and he had to find a way around that. Summoning a monster in defence would save him…for how long? Eventually he'd run out of monsters, or Kaito would just summon another one and that would be that.

His hand began to shake. He tried to hold it steady. He still had cards. He still had his deck. He had strategies –

But try as he might, his cards seemed to be a nonsensical mesh. There had to be a play in his hands but he couldn't see it.

He clenched his fists. _Kattobingu, Yuuma_. He thought to himself. _Don't give up_. Akari was somewhere out there as well. And hadn't he refused to hand over his Number because there were people he had to protect?

He closed his eyes, then opened them. Then he blinked. The cards had changed. Some were clearer. Some duller. Mapping out a strategy. Mapping out a play.

He followed the lights.

**.**

Kaito stared. Was it his imagination or had the boy's shadow changed spread to cover the rest of his body as well?

And it wasn't like the ones possessed. Wasn't like those _things_ that roamed the street, that reeled back as soon as something the Numbers or their slayers approached. It was something…else.

_Is this the special one?_

He looked more carefully. Yes, he did see a film of blue coating the other. But it was so pale, so indistinct.

It hadn't grown enough.

He scowled. It would need to grow more. He'd have to tread carefully with this duel, now that it had a host.

He could no longer claim that Numbers as a prize.

**.**

Yuuma stared at his deck. He had Zubaba Knight as its mirror on the field and that was enough to summon Leviath Dragon – but there was another card in his extra deck. Black, though. A white face impossible to read.

He pushed it out of his mind and summoned out Leviath Dragon. But even by removing both Overlay units, it didn't have enough attack points.

But something told him it would be a more lasting shield than Gogogo Golem.

He played a face down too. Another possible turning point.

**.**

Kaito was almost sure it's a trap card this time. That boy was too obvious, and his poker face ridiculous. Photon Cerberus was easily able to dodge that bullet – and the tightening fists and frozen expression was enough of a show to indicate he was right.

He wondered if that was all the strategies that deck could produce, by the looks of that expression.

But he didn't have the chance to attack or find out the answer to that question because that woman who'd been there before suddenly stumbled out of the light. 'Hey!' she cried. 'Get away from my brother.'

She was probably seeing indistinct shapes, but that didn't matter.

_Little brother_, Kaito thought, staring from the woman to the boy who was definitely younger. That explained it. Why those two had left together. Brother and sister. And, like an older sibling, she'd braved the blinding white to find him.

And, seeing as his initial goal had also been circumvented, there was also no harm in leaving the duel where it was.

'Orbital,' he whispered from the corner of his mouth.

Orbital activated flight mode without complaint – but grumbled when they were in the sky and out of sight.

**.**

Akari stared at her brother as the light faded and her eyes adjusted. His duel disk deactivated and he picked up his trap and stared at it. Holy Armour Mirror Mail, she noticed. One of his most powerful traps.

'He chained it up,' Yuuma told her, and she almost did a double-take at the look in his eyes. 'Every move I made, he was a step ahead. Even with Leviath Dragon.'

'You get opponents like that sometimes.' Akari petted him on the shoulder, wondering what she should say. She didn't know how the duel had gone. Whether Yuuma had done of his usual slip-ups or something else had occurred. Or why he was duelling in the first place. 'But what possessed you –'

'He wanted Leviath Dragon,' Yuuma replied. His voice shook a little and Akari was torn between wanting details and wanting to give him a hug. 'I – I _need_ it. But I was almost out of options.'

'We'll work on the options thing,' Akari said, after a pause to process that. 'And Leviath Dragon belongs to you – or maybe Shark – but certainly not that guy. Don't let him bully you.' She sighed. 'You couldn't have learnt that lesson after the whole Shark business, could you?'

'He would have taken it either way,' Yuuma said flatly.

Akari frowned. Not just because of the implications, but because Yuuma just didn't do the whole "flat" tone.

'Okay,' she said. 'We're going home, eating Obaa-chan's duel rice, and then I'm going to get the whole story out of you, smack some sense into you, and turn you into a Duelling champion.'

She doubted she could do the last on the list, but hopefully the sentiment would make Yuuma look and sound a little more like…well, Yuuma.


End file.
